Summer 2012

Has been fun so far.

Tumblr

Recently, I deleted my tumblr. It’s this semi-exclusive social network people extensively use at my school. Lots of angst, and lots of funny GIFs. But, I decided I didn’t exactly like reading everyone’s secrets online. It wasn’t worth the stress the network imparted. I didn’t like posting either… I’d rather tell friends my worldview than have them read about it.

Friends + Art

A few of my friends came over during the beginning of the summer. We threw a makeshift wedding at my neighbor’s dock and made a veil out of brown packaging. I caught the bouquet y’all! So I’ll be the next to get married out of the group. Considering our age and who was there, it could be in a long, considerable length of years.

I also went back to my school to paint an art mural. The last art mural was painted back in the 1980s so I’m really glad I got the chance the paint the next one. It turned out beautifully. The wall and I spent many, many dedicated hours side by side this school year. It’s miraculous we finished the whole thing. I’ll update with a picture when I get a hold of one.

Fourth of July consisted of a neighborhood barbecure, and a firework spark attacking my brother’s arm (it actually wasn’t his fault). We’ve been using out trusty aloe vera plant to help heal his burn and it’s been working quite well.

Asian people have also come over. Kids somehow related to a branch of my family, whether it be children of a long lost co-worker or my uncle’s friends. After living with 600 teenagers 24/7 (with only once a month breaks at most), I’ve become much more comfortable being around people in general. Whooo, social skills. Raise the roof.

College

Next week I’m going on College Tours. DUN DUN DUNNN. I’m mostly looking at a few Ivys and small liberal arts colleges up north. My thoughts on college? If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you can probably tell that I’m not a huge proponent of standard public education to say the least. Yes, I’ll be applying to a few colleges. Will I actually attend any of said colleges? Errr, I’m not sure. I plan on taking a gap year, much to my parent’s dismay. People tell me to “do something productive do something constructive” during the gap year. While I might do something “constructive,” I don’t think it is necessary. I’ve been going to school for 13 freakin years. If I want to take a year off to goof around, think about life, and have some serious fun while I’m young, I don’t think that should be controversial or unacceptable. *le sigh*. Anyways, I’m still working out some feelings, releasing on different branches of the topic. I don’t have any concrete plans so to what I’ll do, but I’m going to take things as they come. Meaning, doing what feels best for me as I arrive, moment by moment.

Busting Loose

For radicalturtle, sometimes I’ll sit down to write only to stop halfway… because something feels stilted, blocked, or off. Despite the low number of posts in recent months on radicalturtle, I feel as if I’ve grown monumentally in the past year. A few weeks ago, I read “Busting Loose From the Business Game,” and it was a huge game changer for me. It’s not only about Busting Loose from the business game, but the emotions game, the health game, etc. I’m definitely planning on applying “the process” to my schoolwork. It not only gets two thumbs up from me, but also two buns up (as in hair).

School was… that’s another post. Nothing is inherently good or bad, but Smath definitely gets caught in this eclectic ball of love and hatred, raging emotions and sleep deprivation for me. Next school year, I’m planning on taking a different approach to my studies and general life there. Too much stress and intensity associated with the past school year. Intensity is welcome… just not again in the way it panned out.

I’ve been blogging for what? About 2 years. Since the end of freshman year.

Wow.

I’ve just changed so much as a person, from inside out. I feel more loving, peaceful, happy. I’ve grown a couple of inches, and my cheeks, though still round, are starting to puncture and mature. I’m strangely becoming less and less attached to results and whatever happens in my outer-world. I’m still in a place of growth and expansion and I can feel myself letting go more and more everyday. Sinking more deeply  into Permeating Peace and True Joy.

Summer Camp

Oh yeah! I almost forgot to mention…. I’m going to Not Back to School Camp! It’s run and hosted my Grace Lledyln, author of “The Teenage Liberation Handbook!” I’m excited for the new type of people I’ll be meeting, and seeing what I can learn from them. Not to mention having a kick ass time! It’s basically a summer camp based on teenage anarchy. Instead of going to China, I’ve decided to go to Oregon.

I do learn much from my peers at Smath… they’re brilliant, talented and amazing. We can have the best conversations. But truthfully, if you’re at Smath you engage in BS. Whether it’s writing papers with flowery language and opinions you don’t actually believe, or smiling to the system and then turning around to break their rules (There are so many rules it’s hard not to break them… unless you want to live a soulless life in your room).

I’m looking forward to spending a week with radically honest people who live their ideology even if it’s not popular among most circles. Smath tries to portray itself as a perfect haven for the most intelligent students in the state. It gets so much publicity, hype and people fawning over the school. But they do not know how downright miserable many of it’s top students feel, the fact that people sneak onto roofs and into opposite sex dorms, or the overbearing authority of the school administration.

People who critically think can see how flawed the traditional systems are. Many go along with it, convincing themselves higher education is the only route. Unschoolers see beyond it, and decide to go a different path.